The Ravenclaw's Comfort
by HarryPotterChronicles
Summary: After Ron insults Hermione in Transfiguration class, Hermione runs and cries in the girl's bathroom. She then finds comfort in the words of her Ravenclaw friend...


**Hey guys, here is my second fanfic! Please read and review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. **

Beautiful, bright, and brown bushy-haired witch Hermione Granger ran as fast as she could down the corridor in with tears streaming down her red cheeks. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she'd forgotten all of her books back in the Transfiguration classroom. She ran fast, not wanting to look back. As she ran, the scene from the class replayed in her mind.

_She laughs at Ron's mustache…._

_He stands up in anger and does mock imitations of the way she is in class…_

_"__Oh, I'm Hermione Granger, I have the right bloody answer," he says in a high-pitched voice…_

_"__Please, oh please professor, pick me! Pick me! I know it because I'm smarter than everybody else!" Now he waves his hands frantically in the air, and Hermione can't take it anymore…_

_Everyone is watching and laughing…Harry only stares at the scene and does nothing…_

_She threatens to break down and runs…_

Hermione did not stop running. She had to find a quiet place to break down, pretty soon the tears would burst from her eyes and she could not hold them in any longer as the memories consumed her.

She searched for a broom closet, but there was none in sight. She ran about in circles, becoming more and more frustrated. She did not know how much longer she could hold in the tears.

She finally caught sight of the girl's bathroom and sprinted inside. The entire bathroom was empty, but she would not have cared if there was anyone inside anyway. She spotted a quiet corner behind the stalls and curled up into a ball, hugging her knees and letting the tears loose.

How could Ron have been so cruel? Sure she did laugh at his failed attempt to turn his eyebrow a different color which resulted in him creating a mustache on his face, but anyone would have laughed. It was hilarious. He didn't have to mock her like that!

She continued to cry harder than before to the point where she choked on her gasps. Her leggings were now becoming soaked with tears.

And Harry, why didn't he do anything? Surely he wouldn't have approved of Ron's actions in class. He would have stood up for her. But he didn't, obviously, because Ron was his best friend.

She hugged her knees tighter and continued to sob as hard as she could. It was what she needed. A good cry. She hoped that someone would come into the bathroom and notice her. She desperately needed some comfort.

Surprisingly, her wish came true. After a few minutes, someone walked into the bathroom. Hermione's crying stopped and she looked up. She could hear the person humming "Weasley is our King" in a dreamy tone of voice. This could only mean one person.

Hermione watched as Luna Lovegood walked up to the sink and washed her hands, still humming. It made Hermione feel better to listen to that song, as she loved the tune. Luna then turned around and started to walk away.

_Please, don't go…_thought Hermione.

But it was too late. The footsteps were gone. Hermione's face sunk back into her arms and she was about to cry until she heard Luna's dreamy voice. "Hermione?"

Luna was peering over at her from behind the other end of the stall. "Fancy seeing you here," she said.

"Hi, L-Luna," said Hermione.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked, walking over to her. "You seem as though the Wrackspurts have gotten to your head."

Hermione's stomach clenched. Although she had adapted much better to the Ravenclaw as a friend compared to last year, she still had not gotten over Luna's absurd beliefs. However, if there was one thing she had learned from Luna, it was much better to accept than to judge.

"No, nothing like th-that," said Hermione, trying to wipe her tear-stained cheeks. "It's just…I…w-well…"

Luna sat down beside her and waited patiently for Hermione to find the right words.

"Something's h-happened between m-me and R-R-Ron," said Hermione, trying her best to explain through the few sobs still coming out. She wasn't able to stop the few tears that leaked from her eyes.

Luna nodded, and began to rub her back. "What happened?" asked Luna calmly.

"I, well, y-you may l-laugh," said Hermione. She feared that Luna would laugh at her if she told her about the imitation.

"Hermione, we're friends, aren't we?" said Luna, patting her back gently. "Friends can tell each other anything."

Hermione felt a rush of gratitude towards the Ravenclaw. Luna was a person to whom Hermione could open herself up to without fear of judgement. "W-well," she began, "Y-you remember when Gryffindor won the m-match against Slytherin?"

"Oh yes, I was standing right next to you," said Luna. "We were all cheering on Ronald."

"Yeah, but the reason Ron did so well during the match w-was because H-Harry snuck _Felix Felicis _potion into his d-drink."

"Oooh, I remember that too," said Luna. "But isn't the use of that potion by underage wizards illegal?"

"It is!" snapped Hermione. "That's what I have been trying to tell Harry, but he wouldn't listen to me! All he cares about is his good-for-nothing Quidditch victories, and he uses that potion just so Ron can turn into S-Superman! Anyway, Ron and I had a row about the use of that potion. He also started dating L-Lavender Brown. He didn't care about me from that p-point on. So I attacked him after the match with a flock of birds using the _Oppugno_ spell. And just now, he tried to perform a spell in T-Transfiguration class and he put a mustache on himself by accident-"

At hearing this, Luna burst out into a fit of mirthless laughter. "_A-mustache_!" laughed Luna uncontrollably. Hermione also started laughing a bit too. See? she thought. Even Luna would've laughed.

Luna finally calmed down after a minute of good laughter. "Ehm. So go on," said Luna smiling.

Smiling a little bit, Hermione carried on, "so I might have laughed at his mustache" (Luna giggled again) "and I suppose he might've gotten angry about that. But then he s-stood up and mocked me in front of the whole class! He did rude imitations of how I always try to answer a q-q-question in class."

Hermione's sobs returned once again and she planted her face in her knees. Luna continued to vaguely pat her on the back for a few minutes, allowing for Hermione to let herself go.

"I do suppose Ronald can be a bit unkind, can he?" said Luna.

"Yes," said Hermione, clenching her teeth. "He can. Luna, I don't know what to do with him. Sometimes I just wish that you left him in the Department of Mysteries last year."

It was a few seconds before Hermione realized what she had just said. It sounded horrible. Luna's eyes had widened. How could Hermione have said such a thing?

"That doesn't seem very nice to say, even if it is about Ronald," said Luna.

Hermione covered her head with her hands. "I know, Luna, you're right. I don't even know why I said that."

"Sometimes, in order to solve a problem, we need to look for the fault in ourselves before we search for it in others," said Luna. Hermione looked up at her. Admittedly, she hadn't looked at it that way before.

"As Leo Tolstoy once said, 'Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.'"

Hermione considered the quote carefully. Sure she had gone off on the spree to blame Ron for everything, but what had she done?

Did she make Ron feel bad by telling him that he couldn't have won the match without the potion? Was she too harsh when she attacked Ron with the flock of birds? Did Ron really feel offended when she laughed at him in class? Had she considered his feelings?

Or maybe it was jealousy over Lavender Brown. What did this mean? Was she possibly…in love with him?

It couldn't have been…

"Maybe you're right, Luna," said Hermione. "Maybe I did take it too far."

"Then again, Ronald also is at fault," said Luna. "If it were me, I would apologize to him and have him apologize to me. Then I would put the whole issue behind me and live my life with him as friends."

Hermione did not know if she could manage doing that while Ron was still going out with Lavender. "I-I think I'll try that, thanks Luna."

"And don't worry," said Luna. "Ron will soon realize that girlfriends come and go, but true friends are always there for you."

Hermione smiled and gave Luna a hug. "Thank you Luna, really, for everything. You are an amazing person with extraordinary advice."

"Oh, you're very welcome Hermione," said Luna, feeling flattered. "Anything for a friend. Shall we go now? I'd imagine that you are missing out on class."

"Oh no!" said Hermione. She had completely forgotten about missing class over the whole ordeal. "Yes, I should probably be going."

They both stood up and walked out of the bathroom. A few more tears leaked from Hermione's eyes and Luna continued to pat her. As they emerged from the girl's bathroom, they saw Harry approach them, his hands filled with Hermione's belongings.

"Oh, hello Harry," said Luna. "Did you know one of your eyebrows is bright yellow?"

Hermione nearly chuckled, as that was the whole purpose of the assignment from class.

"Hi, Luna," Harry greeted her. "Hermione, you left your stuff."

He held out her books.

"Oh yes," Hermione said in a choked voice. She took her things and began to wipe her eyes with her pencil case. "Thank you, Harry. Well, I'd better get going…"

She then took off down the corridor without saying goodbye to either of them.

"She's a bit upset," said Luna to Harry. "I thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She told me about that Ron Weasley…"

"Yeah, they've had a row," said Harry.

"He says very funny things sometimes, doesn't he?" said Luna. They began to walk down the corridor together. "But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year."

"I s'pose," said Harry. Luna, although she may have seemed a bit odd, had a knack for speaking uncomfortable truths. It was one of the things that made Harry fond of his Ravenclaw friend. "So have you had a good term?

"Oh, it's been all right," said Luna. "A bit lonely without the D.A. Ginny's been nice, though. She stopped two boys in our Transfiguration class calling me 'Loony' the other day-"

"How would you like to come to Slughorn's party with me tonight?" Harry asked suddenly. He never meant to ask the question, but the words slipped out of his mouth. He wasn't keen at all on going to Slughorn's Christmas Party, but he had to and he desperately needed a date. He would've gone with Ginny, but she was dating Dean Thomas. Since Luna was one of his close friends, he thought it wouldn't hurt to take her with him.

Luna was looking at him with surprise. "Slughorn's party? With you?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "We're supposed to bring guests, so I thought you might like…I mean…" Harry tried his best to make his intentions perfectly clear. "I mean, just as friends, you know. But if you don't want to…"

"Oh, no, I'd love to go with you as friends!" said Luna, beaming brightly. "Nobody's ever asked me to a party before, as a friend! Is that why you dyed your eyebrow, for the party? Should I do mine too?"

"No," Harry said firmly, "that was a mistake. I'll get Hermione to put it right for me. So, I'll meet you in the entrance hall at eight o'clock then."

"AHA!" shouted Peeves, who was hanging upside down from a chandelier above them. "_Potty asked Loony to go to the party! Potty lurves Loony! Potty luuuuuurves Loooooony!_"

"Nice to keep these things private," said Harry irritably as Peeves zoomed away, cackling.

"All right, so I'll be here at eight o'clock," said Luna.

"Er, yeah," said Harry. "See you then."

"All right Harry, thank you!" said Luna.

"Erm, you're welcome Luna," said Harry as Luna skipped away excitedly.

Harry began to walk back to class. He was desperately looking forward to going to the Burrow for Christmas, wondering if he could get Ron and Hermione to make up by then. First he had to go to this stupid Christmas party, where he would probably get bombarded by questions from people he didn't know. At least Luna'll be there beside me, he thought.

THE END!


End file.
